Beautiful Disaster
by Little Miss Bovver
Summary: Archie/OC, Ray/Neela - Doctor Andi Barton thinks she has life perfectly in order; a home, a well-paid job, a beautiful little boy. Until, Archie Morris turns his sights on her. Can they make something of it? Rated M
1. Dr Barton

"_I want to save you from the things that cause us pain" _

_- Shakira: Animal City_

Beautiful Disaster

Chapter One

Dr. Barton

Her mousey brown hair was pulled into a loose pony tail, fists clad in red boxing gloves as she pounded the punch-bag over and over again.

Behind it, the older black man held it steady, taking the force of the punches with each throw. His lips were stretched in a grin, teeth missing, but friendly all the same.

Finally, the woman stepped away, panting, sweat beading her forehead.

'You're getting better, Andi,' the old man laughed with glee, stepping towards her to help take her gloves off.

'Thanks,' she smiled, breathlessly. She was stood in CJ's Gym; the place was dim, wooden, dusty and surprisingly one of the very few places where her problem didn't affect her. Andi was a sufferer of OCD; she'd had it for as long as she could remember. She'd just gotten on with life, trying to work around it.

It didn't mean she liked it though.

Her green eyes scanned the room, finally resting on the three year old boy sat in the corner, playing with his toy dinosaurs.

'I'll see you on Thursday, Joe,' Andi smiled. The old man was nicknamed Crazy Joe, though he was far from crazy.

Walking over to her son, Andi knelt down. 'Are you ready, Ryan?' she asked. 'Got to get you to the babysitter.'

Ryan paused, and then nodded, looking up with big brown eyes. His mop of dark hair was a little long and she wrote a mental note to get his haircut. 'Okay,' he finally said, getting to his feet. 'You hold this one, mommy.' He thrust a T-Rex into her hands and she smiled, taking it.

Straightening up, she waved goodbye to CJ, took Ryan's free hand and made her way towards the steps that led upstairs and outside.

'Are you coming back tonight, mommy?' Ryan asked, as they made their way across the street to her car.

'I'm on a late shift, but I'll try and get back before you go to bed,' Andi replied, pulling her car keys out her pocket.

She paused for a moment to wipe a speck of dirt from the window of her car.

* * *

Andi ran into the ER, clipping her ID card to her white jacket. Pratt turned to her, passing her a chart.

'Daniel Clive, 37. Shortness of breath. History of heart failure,' he told her as she read through the chart. Andi nodded, moving past the desk and down to Trauma. Hope followed her, her own clipboard in hand.

'What will he need?' Hope asked, as they entered the room. Sam Taggart and Tony Gates were already there.

'I've given him nitro spray and 40 of Lasix,' she said.

'He's a chronic CHF'er,' Andi replied. 'He needs 80, not 40.'

'I told_ him_ that,' Sam replied, glaring at Gates.

'80 of Lasix. Isordill, Bumex, Glyburide,' Andi said out loud, the other nurses coming to do as asked. 'Protonix, Diovan and Carvedial.'

'Sats are up,' Sam said, triumphantly.

'Lasix in,' Andi replied with a smile, before turning to Gates. 'Aren't you still an Intern?'

'Yes,' he replied.

'Then, you follow instructions. Not the other way around.' She turned to leave, just as Archie entered the room.

'Looking good Andi,' the redhead smiled. Andi just stared back at him wide-eyed, before stepping forward to straighten his tie. 'Oh, yeah, I forgot about your thingy…' he trailed off, as she turned to begin filling out the charts. 'How's Ryan?' he asked, after a moment.

A small smile passed across her face. 'He's good.'

'Still likes dinosaurs?' Archie asked. Andi laughed.

'Yeah, he-'

'_Dr. Barton_!' Kovac's yell came from the corridor. 'Another trauma! _Sam_, _I need you over here!_'

* * *

Neela smiled as she felt hands touch her waist. She was partly dressed, stood by her locker. Ray kissed the back of her neck, smiling against her skin.

'Shouldn't you be working?' she laughed, turning to face him.

'I got distracted,' he smiled, boyish. Neela rolled her eyes, but laughed as his lips ran along her jaw, silencing her with a kiss. 'And anyway,' he continued. 'My shift just finished.'

They both turned as the door opened and Andi came in, pulling her hair out of its bun so it fell over her shoulders. She shut the door behind her, touching the handle four times. Neela quickly pulled her shirt over her head. 'Are you busy tonight, Andi?' she asked, turning to shut her locker.

'Nope,' she replied, moving towards her own locker. It had been a long shift; already her feet were aching from being on them all day.

'Do you want to come out with us?' she asked. 'I know a good bar.' Ray smiled, expectantly and Andi paused for a moment. One drink to relax after work wouldn't hurt.

'I'll call the babysitter and see if she can do another couple of hours,' she smiled.

Half an hour later found the three at a bar, the noise level high, beers in hands. 'Do you want to know something?' Neela asked, taking a sip from her bottle.

'Go on,' Andi replied.

'I think Morris likes you.' Andi stared at her for a moment.

'Really?' she finally asked. 'I never notice.'

'Whenever I'm in the ER, I always see him watching you.'

'Oh, well… I don't really know what to say. I never really thought about him in that way.' But there was a grin on her face. She wasn't quite sure if it was out of embarrassment or the fact that someone liked her.

'I've heard a few other things about him too,' Neela added, knowingly, a suggestive look on her face. The two women fell into giggles at the prospect of Archie liking her and the thought of what else Neela 'knew'. Ray made his way over, a curious expression on his face.

'What's the joke?' he asked, leaning against the bar beside Neela.

'Oh, nothing,' Neela said, still laughing.

'It doesn't matter,' Andi smiled. Ray paused, and then shrugged.

'I think Sam's on her way. She just had to deal with something about Alex. I couldn't hear her on the phone very well,' he told them. But, Andi wasn't listening to the conversation; her mind was still on what Neela had told her.

Archie was always staring at her?

She thought he liked her?

Well, that was stupid.

Right?


	2. Streaks

Beautiful Disaster

Chapter Two

Streaks

'You guys can't stand there and tell me you can't see the streaks,' Frank complained loudly for what must have been the millionth time that week.

And for the millionth time that week, Andi joined him. 'I can see the streaks,' she said, leaning against the desk beside him and staring at the floor. She could see the streaks clearly; everyone else just said they could to shut Frank up.

'These cleaners have no idea on how to clean. It's despicable. They can't even do a good job!' Frank continued. 'Why do we pay them?'

Andi was still staring at the streaks; they looked so out of place and wrong. Already her fingers were tingling just to do something about it. Reaching around to Frank's back pocket she pulled out his hanky and fell to her knees, beginning to scrub.

'Andi, you don't need to clean the floor,' Weaver said, coming towards the desk.

'Streaks,' Andi replied without looking up. 'We can't have streaks. We just can't.' Suddenly, the doors behind her opened again, the paramedics rushing a stretcher in.

'Gary Nicholls, 14. Fell 20 feet.'

'Vitals?' Abby asked, as Sam pulled Andi to her feet.

'Distal deformity on the right L.E,' the paramedic replied.

'Andi, on me,' Abby called back to the other Resident, and Andi, thankful of a distraction from the streaks, followed.

* * *

'Neela told me her thoughts on you and Archie,' Katey said later that day. Andi looked up from her charts, eyebrows raised.

'She did?'

'Yeah,' the shorter woman smirked. 'I think you should go for it.'

'You do?'

'Yeah, you know what to expect from guys like that,' she laughed as they came to a stop beside the admittance desk.

'I do?'

Katey laughed. 'Guys like Archie are willing to try anything. If you wanted him to go down on you, just say the word and he'd do it.'

'Go down on me?' Andi repeated, eyes wide. 'I've never… I mean…' she spluttered. Katey laughed again and Andi shook her head. 'Look, you and me have had countless drunk nights together,' she told Katey. 'You know the extent of my sex life is five minutes in the missionary position. I've never had anyone go down on me.' Archie looked up from where he was scribbling on a chart, a small frown on his face as he listened in.

'Well, maybe you should start small,' Katey said with a playful smile still on her lips. 'Forget Morris for now. When was your last boyfriend?'

'I honestly have no idea,' Andi blushed. 'When guys hear I'm an OCD freak with a three year old son, they tend to run.'

'Look, we're going to sort that. We'll hook you up with someone.' Katey reached out to squeeze her arm, before turning to head back towards the OR.

'Hooking up?' Archie asked, stood behind her. Andi turned to face him.

'Yeah, why?'

'Just curious,' he shrugged. 'It's just, I know someone.'

'You do?' she asked.

'Yeah; he has these big brown eyes and red hair. He's funny, smart, likes to take romantic walks and bubble baths…'

'Bye, Morris,' she said, grabbing another chart and walking off down the corridor.

'I'll give him a call for you,' Archie called after her, hopelessly. 'I'll… set something up.'

* * *

'Okay, what've we got?' Kovac asked as he stepped into Trauma.

'Craig Wilson, 39. Head injury, altered, possible blunt abdominal trauma,' Ray said.

'BP, 90, tachycardic. He was hit by a moving vehicle,' Andi added.

'Okay, C-spine, chest x-ray and trauma panel,' Luka said, coming forward.

'Moving all extremities, but Sats are borderline,' Ray replied.

'Fifteen liters O2,' Luka told the nurses working around them.

'Protocol for intubation?' Andi asked.

'Extomidate for sedation and succinylchlorine as a paralyst,' Ray told them.

'It's a head injury,' Luka replied. 'Wouldn't you use lidocaine first?'

'Yeah,' he replied, frowning slightly at his obvious mistake. 'It reduces ICP response to the intubation.'

'Hang a liter of saline. Gram of Ancef,' Kovac responded.

'He needs a portable monitor for CT,' Andi said.

'Hook him up,' Kovac demanded. 'Let's go.'

* * *

'Hey, Chuny, you still with that guy?' Sam asked over the table in the bar that the women were sat in.

'No, that finished ages ago,' the other woman laughed.

'She's with a mechanic now,' Haleh said knowingly.

'A mechanic?' Andi laughed. Neela nodded in agreement.

'Like, the builder's bum type?'

'No!' Chuny flushed, but there was a grin on her face. 'He's tall, toned _and_ blond.' Andi laughed.

'Blond's aren't my type.'

'No; redheads are,' Katey laughed. Neela high fived her across the table, as Andi flushed this time.

'Nothing is going on between me and Dr. Morris,' she stated firmly. Abby leaned forward.

'That's not what I heard,' she said in a stage whisper.

'What did you hear?'

'Katey told me he was going to go down on you.'

'_Katey_!' Andi exclaimed, before shaking her head. 'It's not true.' She tapped the top of her bottle twice, before picking it up and taking a sip. 'Seriously, guys, there's nothing going on.'

'Then, why's he ringing you?' Hope asked. All eyes were on Andi vibrating phone in the dead center of the table, the name 'Morris' flashing up. Andi felt her flush deepen, before she answered it.

'Hello?'

'Hey, it's me,' Archie replied. 'I was just thinking if you'd like to perhaps meet up sometime. If you're not busy or anything.'

'I'll think about it,' she replied, hearing the others girl whispering and laughing at her side.

'Yeah, I'm pretty busy too, so we'd have to work it out,' Archie said quickly to cover up his embarrassment. Andi felt a little bad, but tried her best to keep the feeling away.

'Goodnight, Archie,' she said.

'Bye.' The line went dead, but she held it to her ear.

'What did he say?' Neela asked, giggling a little as Katey whispered something in her ear.

'He wants to meet up.'

'Are you going to?' Haleh asked.

'He is a jerk,' Chuny added.

'And sleeps with like… everyone,' Sam put in.

'Well, I think she should give him a chance,' Hope said, standing up for him. 'I'm sure he's much nicer than everyone thinks.'

'Maybe Hope should try him out first,' Katey said. 'Maybe she wants him to dine at the Y.'

'I do not. Whatever that means,' Hope replied indignantly. The conversation slowly changed to Neela and Ray and Andi glanced across the table at Hope.

_Thank you_, she mouthed and Hope smiled in return.


	3. Love Lockdown

Beautiful Disaster

Chapter Three

Love Lockdown

Andi made her way down the busy streets of Chicago, towards the hospital. The morning sun beamed down on them, though the ground was still damp from that night's rain.

Across the road from her, a woman in a red coat was arguing with a man. He was yelling in her face, grabbing her arm though she kept backing away from it. Andi frowned, crossing over towards them to intervene.

There was a loud honking and Andi dodged out the way of a car, dropping her bag. 'Watch it, you stupid bitch!' the driver yelled out the window. Andi glared after him, picking her bag up again and making it to the curb on the other side.

'Idiot,' she muttered, continuing down the road until she got to the Ambulance Bay of County. She made her way in through the doors and the waiting room.

'Morning,' smiled Neela as she made her way towards the desk.

'Morning,' Andi smiled in return.

'Look, I'm sorry about last night,' the Brit said as Andi signed in.

'What do you mean?' she frowned, looking up.

'When we teased you about Morris. I should have said something like Hope did.'

'Don't worry about it,' Andi replied. 'It doesn't matter, because I don't like him like that.'

'Are you sure? You're blushing.'

'I am not blushing!' Andi protested.

'But it is obvious he likes you,' she smiled. 'He called you.'

'Yeah.'

'And wants to meet up,' Neela laughed.

'Who wants to meet up?' Ray asked as he came over with a tray of coffees. He held them out, Andi and Neela taking one.

'Go away, Rockstar,' Andi laughed. 'This is girl talk.'

'And there's a vomiting girl with your name on it in Curtain 2,' Abby said from behind him. Ray pulled a face, handing Abby the last coffee before walking off.

'Talking about Morris?' Lockhart asked, taking the last coffee out and handing Frank the empty tray as he passed.

Suddenly, the doors burst open behind them, paramedics wheeling a stretcher in. A woman in a red coat lay bruised and bleeding on top and Andi instantly felt her stomach drop.

'Unresponsive with heavy vaginal bleeding,' the paramedic said in a rushed voice.

'BP, 90/60 in the field, up with a liter,' Sam called, reading off the chart as they led the trolley to Trauma 2.

'What happened?' Andi asked, keeping pace with Abby.

'She was found in an alley, badly beaten,' he replied, as they pushed the trolley into the room.

'Syncope, trauma with vag bleeding,' Sam said as they grabbed four corners of the blanket.

'Or ectopic pregnancy,' Abby replied. 'Okay, one, two three.' They lifted her up all at once, placing her onto the bed. The paramedics moved, pushing their trolley out.

Abby leaned over the woman, lifting each eyelid to shine a light in her eyes. The woman was beautiful; black tresses falling in curls, her pale face covered in grazes and bruises.

Andi felt sick and she forced herself to concentrate on what the others were saying.

'Pupils, 4 millimeters and reactive,' Lockhart said, pocketing her torch.

Sam frowned as she checked the woman over. 'Contusions and lacerations to the labia.'

'CBC, coags, type and cross,' Andi said, writing down on the chart.

'Pregnancy test is negative,' Haleh said, coming behind them. Abby nodded.

'Get her to CT to rule out brain injury.' She turned to Andi. 'Check on CT and notify OB.'

'C-spine's clear,' Sam said, turning back to them.

'Use Dermabond to fix forehead lac,' Abby replied.

'Scanner's ready,' Haleh said from the phone.

'Okay. We'll do a rape examine. Get her on the portable monitor.' Sam nodded as Andi stood there, staring at the woman.

She could have stopped this. She could have- Andi shut her eyes for a moment, forcing herself to keep the thoughts at bay.

Abby was sat on a stool at the bottom of the bed. Andi and Sam came forward to place the victim's feet on the stirrups. Haleh passed Abby a Speculum and she turned on the light, before putting her hand under the red coat to push it inside.

'Can I have the swabs?' Abby asked. Haleh handed them over and Abby began to sweep inside. Andi looked away as Abby began to irrigate with water, before removing that with a syringe.

* * *

Andi stepped into the break room, touching the handle four times before shutting it. She moved towards her locker, opening it and staring at the picture of her son that stared back at her.

With a sigh, Andi pulled it out, eyes grazing the smiling face of her little boy. Then, she replaced it and snagged a green shirt that was waiting, neatly folded. She dressed into fresh clothes, shutting her locker when Abby walked in.

'The exam evidence has been sealed and is waiting to be signed by the cop,' she said. Andi nodded, turning to look at her.

'Did you send the cultures to the lab?'

'Yeah, GC and Chlamydia and I told them to rush the vaginal washing.' Andi nodded, leaning back against the locker with a sigh.

'Is she awake?'

'Yeah; I gave her an mg of Ativan for the agitation. And the initial results were negative for the presence of sperm.'

'They're treating the boyfriend as a suspect,' Andi said in a quiet voice, staring past Lockhart and into the corridor where a man was talking to two Officers.

'Her name is Lauren Cox. C'mon.' Andi nodded, following Abby out the room, touching the handle four times on her way out.

When they entered Trauma 2, Lauren was propped up slightly against her pillows, face swollen and sore.

'How do you feel?' Andi asked, picking up her chart and reading through it.

Lauren hesitated for a moment. 'I feel… it's weird. I feel like I'm not here.'

'That'll be the effects of the morphine,' Abby said, before her pager began to bleep. She looked down at it. 'I need to take this. Are you okay here?'

'Yeah, I'll be fine.' When Abby had gone, Lauren shifted on the bed, wincing.

'Where's Paul?'

'Paul?' frowned Andi, looking up.

'My boyfriend. They think he did it.' Her voice was hoarse and Andi moved across the room to get a glass of water. 'I overheard him arguing in the corridor.'

'Do you remember anything?' she asked, coming back to hand her the water. She helped Lauren drink it, before setting the glass down.

'Yes.' Lauren's gave a small sob, squeezing her eyes shut. 'I remember it all. It was so quick and… brutal, but I remember it.'

'Do you know who did this to you?' Once again Lauren nodded.

'It was Carl Brookes. My neighbour.'

* * *

The man was struggling, flailing out and yelling at the top of his voice. 'Get the hell off of me! I don't need to be here! Get the fuck off me!'

Andi hurried over. The man had blood staining the front of his shirt, wiped over his hands, face and neck.

'Stabs wounds to the chest,' the paramedic said, her eyes cold. Two policemen were following behind. 'Self inflicted.'

'Let me go! Let me go now, you bastards!' They wheeled him into Trauma 1 and Andi noticed Lauren and Paul looked over through the window that separated them.

She saw Paul's face suddenly contort to anger as he raced from that room and suddenly burst into this one.

'You!' he snarled, throwing a fist into the man's face. Sam jumped forward to grab him, one of the Officers helping to pull him away. 'You sick bastard!' Paul cried.

'What's going on?' demanded Andi, trying to inspect the wounds on the man's chest. 'What happened here?'

The second Officer stepped forward. 'We went to Mr. Brookes' flat to arrest him on the suspicion of sexual assault on Miss Cox. He started yelling abuse, before fleeing to the kitchen and stabbing himself multiply times.'

Andi's eyes widened, before she turned to have a good look at Mr. Brookes. But, all she could remember was the vivid red coat. She stepped away from the table, unable to bring herself to help save this man.

'You… what you did to her…'

'Andi,' Sam muttered, pulling her away as the darker haired woman began to sob.

'He did that to her!' Andi protested, turning to look at her friend in the eyes. 'He… he!'

And suddenly Archie was there, taking her hand and pulling her out the room. Andi didn't even realize she was crying until she tasted the tears, her vision blurred. He pulled her into the break room and she pulled herself away to touch the handle. She _had_ to.

And then he sat her down on the sofa. 'Why are you crying?' Archie asked. 'It wasn't your fault.'

'I… I could have stopped this!'

'Andi-'

'You don't understand!' she stressed. 'I was there this morning. I was going to intervene, but I almost got run over and I just… forgot where I was.' She wiped the tears from her cheek, sniffing. 'I could have stopped this happening. Oh, I'm so stupid.'

'Listen to me,' Archie said, cupping her cheeks and forcing her to look at him. 'Abby and Sam will clean him up. The police will deal with him now.' Andi gave a small sob and nodded. His thumb brushed her cheek softly. 'Don't blame yourself.' His voice was husky, and he leaned forward, lips pressed against hers. Andi froze for a moment, before her brain kicked into gear. She pushed herself forcefully into him, gripping his shoulders and pulling him closer.

His tongue ran along her bottom lip and she granted him eager entry, her heart pounding in her chest, butterflies raiding her stomach.

And it felt right.


	4. The secret's out

Beautiful Disaster

Chapter Four

The secret's out 

Andi elevated old Mrs. Krutchin's leg, pulling the latex gloves on. She could feel she was being watched and with a sigh, she looked up to see Sam staring back at her. Andi looked away again.

'Is there something on your mind?' the nurse asked, handing Andi the bowl so she could plaster the old lady's leg.

'It doesn't matter,' she replied.

'No, go on. If it's on your mind…' she trailed off and Andi looked up again, knowing Sam wouldn't back down.

'Archie kissed me yesterday,' she finally admitted. There was a crash as Sam dropped the tray she had picked up.

'Sorry,' she said, flushing as she bent to clean it up. 'He kissed you?'

'Look, can we talk about this later?' Andi asked.

'Sure.'

'Hey, don't stop on my behalf,' Mrs. Krutchin croaked.

'Later,' Andi muttered. 'Can you finish up here, Sam?' The nurse nodded as Andi pulled off the gloves and walked off.

* * *

'Hey, Neela!' Sam called as she caught sight of the dark haired woman making her way down.

'Yeah?' Sam quickly glanced around, before leaning closer and whispering, 'Morris kissed Andi last night.'

'He what?' Neela exclaimed, eyes wide.

'He kissed her!'

'How do you know?'

'She told me earlier.' Neela grinned, before snagging Ray's hand as he passed.

'Hey,' he smiled.

'Archie kissed Andi,' Neela laughed in a hushed voice.

'He did?'

'Yeah.' Ray paused for a moment, before grinning and strolling off to the front desk. 'Hey, Pratt.'

'Yeah?' the dark skinned man looked up.

'Apparently Morris kissed Andi.'

'Morris kissed Andi?' Pratt said, eyebrows raised. Both men looked up as the redhead made his way over.

'Another patient dealt with,' Morris said proudly. 'Board is getting clear-'

'Did you kiss Andi?' Pratt demanded loudly, a humorous look on his face. Gates, Weaver, Chuny and Hope all looked up from what they were doing, expressions of disbelief identical on their faces.

'Ah, well… I might have…' Archie replied, looking awkward, a flush rising from his neck.

'You kissed her?' Hope squealed, a smile on her face. 'Oh, it's what God would have wanted!'

Andi sighed, staring down at her charts as she made her way towards the front desk. 'Where's Frank? I need a file...' she slowed to a stop, looking up. 'Why's everyone staring at me?'

'You and Archie kissed?' Gates smirked, a cocky expression on his face. She glared at the redhead who seemed to shrink away slightly.

'No! He kissed me and anyway, it's an experience I _won't_ be repeating.' She slammed down her charts and snagged a fresh one, before turning and walking off to Trauma. Archie sighed.

'Andi!' he called after her, but she ignored him, leaving him stood helplessly alone. Pratt came forward to put a hand on his shoulder, Ray moving to stand on the other side of him.

'I have to say it,' Ray said after a moment. 'But, please tell me your intentions are honorable.'

'Of course they're honorable,' Morris replied.

'No cheap quickies,' Ray added.

'Yeah; you can't just use her and then drop her,' Pratt agreed. Archie shook him off, turning to stare at them.

'You don't think I'm serious about this?'

'Well, you do have a reputation.'

'And not to mention a million Petri-dish kids,' Ray told him.

'Four! I have four!'

'Four that you know of,' Pratt said. 'Who knows how many more Mini-Morris' are running about out there.' Archie folded his arms over his chest.

'I'm serious about her, man. I really am!' Ray looked at him for a moment, before sighing.

'Alright, but remember this; screw her over and you'll have me to deal with. Andi's like a little sister to me.'

'I know,' Morris sighed. 'I know.'

* * *

'Hey, Neela,' Gates called, a smile on his face as he followed her out the Ambulance Bay. 'Going for coffee?'

'Yeah; you coming?' she asked. He nodded, falling in step beside her. 'I'm glad you're here actually; it's a big order.' Tony smiled. 'I'm buying for everyone. The doctors in the ER have a meeting with Luka, so I thought I'd help out and get them drinks.'

'Just for the big bad doctors?' he asked.

'No,' Neela laughed. 'The Interns as well. How's Sarah?' Tony paused for a moment, as they entered the coffee shop.

'She's fine. Coping without Meg better than I am, that's all I can say.'

'She's a tough girl,' Neela told him, before moving towards the counter. 'I'll have four cappuccinos and eight lattes please.' The woman behind the counter nodded, and Neela turned back to Tony.

'How's Ray?' he asked, a slight look of humor on his face. Neela considered him for a moment.

'Why are you laughing?' she finally asked.

'Nothing,' he smiled, looking away.

'No, go on.'

'Well, I still wonder why you're with him. A beautiful girl like yourself with a jerk like him!' Neela flushed and turned away.

'He's not a jerk, Gates. He's my boyfriend and we've been through a lot together.'

'He's too jealous,' Gates said, shrugging off her words. 'If you even look at another guy, he's annoyed.'

'No,' Neela muttered back. 'If I look at _you_, he gets annoyed. And can you blame him? You seem to be tangled up with all the women in this place.'

'Tangled?' Tony laughed.

'Yeah; you and Sam dated for a few weeks when you first arrived. Then, there was that one-night stand with Katey. And everyone saw you kissing Andi in the hallway last Halloween. Last week, I saw you with that new surgeon, Mae. And, you still try and charm me with every chance you get.'

'All right, maybe that_ is_ a little true-'

'A little true?' she snorted.

'-but, I'm not tangled up with anyone. I'm a free man. And, I like you. You know that.'

'And you also know your boundaries,' she said in a firm voice, passing the cash over when the woman handed the trays of drinks over the counter. They took two each, Neela waiting to pocket the change before they turned and walked out, back towards County. 'I love Ray. And you should respect that.'

'I do respect that. I just don't get it.' Neela shook her head, turning to balance the other two trays on top of the ones Tony was carrying.

'Take those to the break room,' she said, before stalking off inside.

* * *

Andi made her way into the break room with Sam, picking up one of the lattes and moving to sit at the table. Sam pulled up a chair beside her as Luka cleared his throat and called for attention.

'I won't be long guys,' he said. 'I know you all have work to do, but I just wanted to say how proud of you I am. You've worked damn hard this past month, taken control of situations easily and worked together well as a team.'

Andi smiled at the older man's words, tapping the top of her coffee cup twice before taking a sip.

'Residents and Attendings,' Kovac continued, 'I'm happy with the work you've been doing with the Interns. You're all great teachers. And I'm also happy with the work the Interns have been putting in. You will all be great doctors.' Hope smiled thoughtfully, as Gates stood beside her, a cocky, boyish grin on his face.

'Well, that's it really. I just wanted to tell you to keep up the good work and we shouldn't have any problems. You can get back now.'

The doctors moved towards the door, calling thanks to him.

'Thank you, Dr. Kovac,' smiled Hope before she hurried out.

'You're very welcome,' he replied, as he watched them file out.

* * *

'Raymart Cho, 24. Drug overdose,' the paramedic said as they wheeled the trolley in. Andi came over, taking the chart. 'Pulse, 84. Systolic, 86.'

'Okay, get him to Trauma 1. We'll give him a liter of EJ.' The man laid on the bed had his eyes closed, blue lips tinged against pale skin. They pushed him into the room.

'We'll give him an IV,' said Ray, coming in after them. Sam grabbed the equipment, passing it over to Andi.

'I can't get the line in. There's too many track marks.' Ray moved opposite her, injecting Narcan into Gavin's mouth.

'No response,' he muttered. 'I need a little cricoid here.' Andi moved to stand by Gavin's head, taking the tube that Sam was holding out for her. She pushed it into his mouth, grinning triumphantly when she got it in.

'Bag him,' she told Sam, pulling the tube out, so the nurse could connect the pump.

'Run of 10. Systolic's only 78,' Sam told them, before beginning to pump the bag.

'Hundred of lido, half amp of epi and a gram of ceftriaxone,' Ray called. Suddenly, the machines began to beep loudly.

'V-tach,' Andi called. 'No pulse. Start compressions.' Ray pulled the stool over, standing on it so he could start compressions. Andi picked up the strip a frown on her face before she held it up for Ray to see. 'It doesn't look right.'

'Sat depressions and U waves,' he replied. 'He's hypokalemic.'

'F 40 of KCL,' Andi told Sam. Sam let another nurse take over the bag, pulling the defibrillator over. 'Charge to 200.' The machine whined, before beeping. 'Clear!' They all moved away from the man, Gavin's body jerking up when Andi pressed it against his chest.

'Still V-tach,' Ray frowned.

'Resuming. Charge to three hundred.'

'What if it's periodic paralyst?' Ray said.

'What?' Andi frowned, as the defibrillator charged again.

'Potassium's in,' Sam called.

'Clear!'

'It's common with Asians,' Ray continued. 'Let's try a Beta Blocker, not KCL.'

'Get me metoprolol,' Andi agreed, putting the defibrillator aside. Sam handed the needle over, Andi injecting it into the tube. 'Fifty mgs going in.'

There was a pause and then the monitor began to bleep normally.

'Back in sinus,' Sam smiled.

'Call ICU. Get him upstairs.'

* * *

Andi walked up to the recovery room, feeling nervous. The place was clean and tidy looking. She pushed open the door and peered in, seeing Lauren sat on the bed.

'Hey,' she said softly. Lauren looked up, a giving a small smile. Her face was still bad; it seemed like a hard thing to do, but Andi was happy with the attempt. She came forward, holding up the brown bag. 'I brought you a treat.'

'Sit. Please.' Lauren put the magazine down as Andi sat down on the chair beside the bed. She passed her the bag, and Lauren pulled out a bag of cookies.

'Freshly baked. You must get hungry up here. Even I must admit the food isn't great.'

'Thank you,' Lauren laughed hoarsely. 'For everything.'

'Don't thank me,' Andi muttered, looking down at her hands. 'I saw you that morning. I could have stopped it.'

'Don't blame yourself,' Lauren said, before coughing. 'You did everything for me at the hospital. I'm grateful for this, but please. Don't blame yourself. It'll make it much harder for me.'

Andi nodded, looking up again. 'Have they arrested him?'

'Yeah; he'll be recovering in prison.' The door behind them opened, Paul stepping in. He paused when he saw Andi, but then came towards, leaning down to kiss Lauren.

'I best go. My son will be waiting for me,' Andi said. Paul nodded, catching her wrist as she turned to go.

'Thank you,' he muttered in an undertone, as Lauren picked out a cookie and bit into it.

'It's okay,' she replied. 'Don't eat all the cookies at once.'


End file.
